All of us enjoy spending time in our favorite, comfortable coffee shop. Some of us spend much more time there than we ever thought or imagined. In my time working as a barista I have developed a short list of important points of etiquette when waiting in line and ordering from your local coffee shop. These "rules" will make your barista much happier as well as everyone else in the coffee shop. So, here it goes in no particular order:
1. Never stand in front of the counter or register as if you're ready to order but are actually just wanting to talk to your friend. Save your conversation for after you order. Your barista will appreciate not having to yell at you to get your attention, and everyone piling up behind you in line won't grab you by the hair and yank you out the door.
2. Don't try to order and talk on your cell phone at the same time. You will probably end up with the wrong drink (perhaps even on purpose...) without even realizing it, and your barista will be very frustrated. Plus, openly talking on your cell phone in a very public place is just rude anyway.
3. Don't ever order "just" a latte. You are, however, allowed to order "just" a coffee. If you realized how much more time and effort goes into making a latte compared to a coffee, you would feel the same way. If you must order "just" a latte, make absolutely sure that you never order "just" a latte with a flavor shot. That requires even more time and effort from your barista. Please, just show each drink the honor and respect it deserves and understand that a lot goes on to prepare your drink while you're talking on your cell phone and chatting with your friends.
4. Avoid using Starbucks language. Thanks to Starbucks, the coffee industry has been forced into conforming to grande's and venti's. If at a loss for your local coffee shop terminology, you are always safe just saying small, medium, or large. It works every time.
5. Most importantly, be friendly. Your barista probably wakes up at the earliest hours of the morning and makes the extra effort to be friendly to you, so engage him or her in conversation. Whether it's about the dog or your snotty neighbor, people's stories are what makes being a barista so fun.
These five basic rules will transform your coffee shop experience. You will be amazed at how much happier everyone is, and especially, how much better your coffee tastes!
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5 comments:
is it rude to ask for suggestions...mr barista
What if you don't like coffee and you want "just" some hot chocolate?
And what is the acceptable amount of time to leech WiFi after ordering just one menu item?
I like this open Q& A.
Excellent questions...here are some responses:
1. Asking for suggestions is good and any good barista will enjoy the opportunity to rave about his/her favorite drink or the latest customer craze.
2. "Just" some hot chocolate is ok. It doesn't require a lot of extra effort, especially during the peak winter season. If the hot chocolate starts getting complicated with flavor shots, espresso shots, etc., it moves beyond the level of being "just" a hot chocolate to a more finessed piece of work.
3. If the coffee shop is slow and you are one of very few using wireless, it's generally ok to stay for several hours. When the shop starts to fill up, however, it becomes the customer's obligation to either purchase another small item or leave and come back another time. I'm generally pretty lenient about that.
Wow, that was the longest comment ever...
whatever happened to "the customer is always right"?
I would like a coffee shop that also sold burgers
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